Slow, low and smoked key start to mouth-watering feast, experts say
Simone Joseph

You may like ’em sweet or spicy, chewy or tough, gooey or dry.

Ribs come in all different flavours and consistencies.

Of course, every ribber will insist theirs is best.

Aurora’s third annual Ribfest features live entertainment, sauce competitions and a beer garden and it is just around the corner — Sept. 5 to 7 — in Machell Park on Aurora Heights Drive.

Two Ribfest rib makers and the Ribfest organizer reveal secrets to great-tasting ribs.

It is all in the cooking, says Tom Diavolitsis, owner and operator of Boss Hogs BBQ.

Mr. Diavolitsis uses a huge oven, called a smoker.

It can hold 700 pounds of meat, said Mr. Diavolitsis, who has been in the rib-making business for about 10 years.

He uses stage cooking, which is cooking at various temperatures throughout the process.

A lower heat produces more tender meat, he said.

Mr. Diavolitsis starts off by cooking the ribs at a high temperature, allowing the meat to sear in its juices, then slowly drops the temperature.

He generally starts at 300 degrees for the first half of an hour, then moves to 275 degrees for an hour, then 250 degrees for another hour, then 275 for 1-1/2 hours.

For people cooking ribs at home, he recommends baking ribs, since not everyone has access to a smoker.

Ribbers use a pit smoke technique, such as a wood fire pit that restaurants cannot imitate.

The heat and smoke gets into the cooking chamber and gets to the meat rather than having the flame directly hit the meat.

At the end of the cooking process, you can place the tender, juicy meat right about the flame for one minute just to carmelize the sauce and finish off the ribs, he said.

Shelley Ware, Aurora’s special events co-ordinator, believes the secret to great ribs lies in how long ribs are cooked.

Each rib at the ribfest is cooked a minimum of 16 hours, she said.

Good barbecuing is the secret to great-tasting ribs, says a rib maker who identifies himself only as Stephen the Bad Wolf.

He is head of Bad Wolf Barbecue, originally from Kansas City, now based in Toronto.

Cook the ribs low and slow, he said. As for sauce? Stephen adapted his rib sauce in Ontario.

Choosing sauce is a very personal decision, he said.  

Sauce preference is very specific to the region in which you live, he added.

In Texas, for example, people want a really hot, spicy sauce. In Kansas City, they want more of a salty taste. In the Carolinas, they prefer a mustard rather than a tomato base and the sauce turns out yellowish in colour.

What is the strangest ingredient ever to be put on ribs?

Mr. Diavolitsis once dipped ribs in tzatziki.

“It did not go that well,” he admitted. “Lemon oregano worked better.”

Ms Weir has co-ordinated ribfest events for five years in Barrie and three years in Aurora.

In that time, the strangest ingredients she has tried on ribs are mustard and molasses mixed together.

Even vegetarians can enjoy this event, Ms Weir said, pointing out roasted corn on the cob, baked beans, fries and other non-meat fare will be sold.

The rib teams come from pro circuits all over North America, she said.

For more, go to:
www.badwolfbarbecue.com
www.bosshogsbbq.ca
www.town.aurora.on.ca

Weekend agenda:

Sept. 5
Noon to 7 p.m. — Live deejay music (request your favourite music).
4 to 9 p.m. — Children’s Activity Zone (enjoy mini golfing and a fishing pond)
7 to 10 p.m. —  The Glenn Marais Band
Sept. 6
Noon to 7 p.m. — Live deejay music (request your favourite music).
2 to 3 p.m. — Community Sauce Judging Competition
4 to 9 p.m. — Children’s Activity Zone (enjoy mini golfing and a fishing pond)
7 to 10 p.m. —  Loco Zydeco
Sept. 7
Noon to 6 p.m. Live deejay music (request your favourite music)
1 to 2 p.m. Professional Rib Teams Judging

Barbecue ribs
Here is a basic rib recipe from Tom Diabolitsis, owner and operator of Boss Hogs BBQ.
1) Start off by basting ribs in tomato sauce, garlic and other spices and cover with tin foil. You want this sauce to cover 1 to 1-1/2 inches of the bottom of the baking pan. The sauce should be runny.
2) Bake at 325 degrees for 2-1/2 hours.
3) Let the ribs cool.
4) Fire up your barbecue. When ribs get hot, slowly spread on more sauce with a brush.